Coloring a Font with a RGB etc. without adding the color to the document swatches.

[Trevor:]

Is there a way of coloring a font with a RGB, Lab or CMYK color without adding the color to the document swatches.

The only way I know is to add a color to the swatches or use one that already exists.

like

   app.selection[0].characters[0].fillColor=document.colors.add({colorValue: [255, 53, 160], space: ColorSpace.RGB});}

This has the undesired effect of cluttering up the swatches when using a lot of colors.

any ideas?

[Jump_Over]

Hi,

No need to capitalize, I did not provide it for public use - just to show the way (very rare)

Jarek

[Laubender]

@Jarek – to test your code, did you do the unthinkable?

( Removing all unnamed colors from app while no InDesign file was open )

I think, I can see what is happening here.

While no document is open, in the UI we can add a new unnamed color to app.colors, if we go to the Color Panel (not the Swatches Panel), define a color there.

Nothing more, nothing less. Phew…

That unnamed color will stick to the app.colors collection even after restarting InDesign app.

So even if a scripter was playing around and removed all unnamed colors, we have a way to fix this.

Of course, I did playing around and tested this 😉

Unless I do a reinstall of InDesign this new unnamed color will stick.

To make your script working, I think we should open the "Color" Panel beforehand:

app.panels.itemByName("$ID/kColor").visible = true;

Ok. So we can add an unnamed color through the Color Panel.

Could we do it while a document is open?

Yes. We can. No need to close all documents:

//Adding a fresh document:
app.documents.add();
//The following is also working on an already open document:
/*
IDs for the three different sub-menus of the "Color Panel":  
29188    Lab
29189    CMYK
29190    RGB
*/
//Make the Color Panel visible:
var myColorPanel = app.panels.itemByName("$ID/kColor").visible = true;
//Add a unnamed LAB color to the document.colors collection:
try{app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(29188).invoke()}catch(e){$.writeln(e.message)};
for(x in app.documents[0].colors[-1]){
    $.writeln(x+"\t"+app.documents[0].colors[-1]);
    };
$.writeln("********************");
//Add a unnamed CMYK color to the document.colors collection:
try{app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(29189).invoke()}catch(e){$.writeln(e.message)};
for(x in app.documents[0].colors[-1]){
    $.writeln(x+"\t"+app.documents[0].colors[-1]);
    };
$.writeln("********************");
//Add a unnamed RGB color to the document.colors collection:
try{app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(29190).invoke()}catch(e){$.writeln(e.message)};
for(x in app.documents[0].colors[-1]){
    $.writeln(x+"\t"+app.documents[0].colors[-1]);
    };
$.writeln("********************");
/*
//RESULTS WITH A FRESH OPENED DOCUMENT:
model    1886548851
space    1665941826
colorValue    0,-0.49809998273849,-4.84829998016357
name    
id    207
label    
isValid    true
parent    [object Document]
index    15
properties    [object Object]
events    [object Events]
eventListeners    [object EventListeners]
isValid    true
********************
model    1886548851
space    1129142603
colorValue    100,100,0,100
name    
id    208
label    
isValid    true
parent    [object Document]
index    16
properties    [object Object]
events    [object Events]
eventListeners    [object EventListeners]
isValid    true
********************
model    1886548851
space    1666336578
colorValue    0,0,10.3275000303984
name    
id    209
label    
isValid    true
parent    [object Document]
index    17
properties    [object Object]
events    [object Events]
eventListeners    [object EventListeners]
isValid    true
********************
*/

Uwe

[Laubender]

Of course, the next step would be to access document.colors[-1] and change the colorValue to the desired one 🙂

Uwe

[Laubender]

After some years I have to come back to this old thread to add something.

In post # 22 I wrote:

An unnamed color  would  always be ColorModel.PROCESS.

Despite my attempts that cannot be changed…

That's still true, I think, but we could do a "named" color with model "spot" that will not make it to the Swatches panel ( if that's what we want ), because property "Visible" in an edited IDMS file can be changed from "true" to "false".

The visibility of a color is not necessarily dependent on a missing name for an added color by placing a snippet file.

Recently the question came up, if it is possible to add a hidden color:

Make a color hidden.

The answer would be "yes":

1. Add an unnamed color to the document

Note: A UI user could add that color to the Swatches panel.

It would be always convert to model PROCESS.

2. Add a named, but invisible color to the document by placing an edited IDMS snippet file.

Simply set a named color's "Visible" property to "false" in an IDMS snippet.

In editing the snippet all other properties like model, space or colorValue can be defined as you wish.

Note: A UI user would not be able to make the imported color visible in the Swatches panel.

The menu command is "Add unnamed colors" and not "Add invisible colors".

Regards,
Uwe

[Jongware]

Gosh I have no idea what prompted me to visit this thread again

... Here is a one-liner to set the color of a text selection to any RGB, Lab, or CMYK color without adding it to the Swatches list:

app.selection[0].fillColor.properties = {space:ColorSpace.RGB,colorValue:[255,255,0]};

Impressed? Well, if you try it you'll notice it won't work straight away. There Is A Catch! (Two of 'em, actually.)

.

.

.

.

.

(spoiler space)

.

.

.

.

.

Catch #1: You can only change the color of text if it already has an 'undefined' color!

Now usually, you'll find your text already comes with a swatch applied to it, even though it's simply "Black", and so you cannot use this trick. If you do want to use it, you have to change it first to the fillColor of a text that already has an undefined color applied to it; then you can change it to anything you want. But you cannot create a piece of text to act as model to begin with, using a script (well, other than Harbs' workaround with a temporary snippet file) -- a real Catch-22.

To get it to work, draw a new text frame somewhere on the pasteboard in your document and enter this text into it: "A Jongware Solution". (Use exactly this text.) Change the color to something random, using the Color panel. Use the Script Label panel to add a label to the text frame -- use "color placeholder". Then, just before the line that sets other text to any color, insert this:

app.selection[0].fillColor = app.activeDocument.textFrames.item("color placeholder").characters[0].fillColor;

At first glance, this appears to work, but I noticed The Weirdest Thing. If you apply this color to your newly selected text, you'll find it initially is set to the placeholder color. That's to be expected. The second line (the one at the top of this post) also works, as you will see the color change to the new settings.

However. Catch #2

Check what happens to the placeholder text ... It also changes its color! Curioser & curioser, if you used this trick a couple of times in the same document, you'll find that every item with the same color also changes! It's kinda like ... you have a swatch ... but not really ...

[Trevor:]

Thanks Jongware

I'm afraid I agree with the spoiler lines you put it

I think the catches are quite big,

Oh well, but as it happens I was also thinking of this post lately and thought of you because I had seen on another post that you wrote that one can use menu actions

So I know this is a cheat because my question was how to add color with no swatch but I think (based on Harbs and your replys) that its better to add and then remove the swatches and replace the removed swatches with unnamed ones.

But It's easier said than done

Please see the script below and see if you can correct the problem line

to run the script a letter ... which is colored with a swatch must be selected.

var myMenu = app.menuActions.item('$ID/Swatches_WinMenu');

myMenu.invoke();

var mySwatchRemoveMenuItem = app.menuActions.item('$ID/Delete Swatch...');

mySwatchRemoveMenuItem.invoke();

var makeUnnamedSwatch = app.menuActions.item('$ID/Unnamed Swatch');

// The above line is the problem line I don't know what to put instead of '$ID/Unnamed Swatch'

// to get it to choose replace with unnamed swatch as there dosn't seem to be a valid $ID for it.

makeUnnamedSwatch.invoke();

Once again

Thanks

[Jongware]

I'm afraid it's not that straightforward. "Delete Swatch" is a menu option but "Replace with Unnamed Color" is not, so there is nothing to invoke.

[Trevor:]

Oh well again, I guess that sums it up.

Thanks

[Laubender]

Hi together,

update on some details.

With InDesign 2021 version 16 the developers added the new color mode HSB next to LAB, RGB and CMYK.

So my statement from 2014 is not true anymore:

/*
IDs for the four different sub-menus of the "Color Panel":  
29188    Lab
29189    CMYK
29190    RGB
*/

The old IDs invoke "different" sub-menus of the "Color Panel" and one ID was simply added:

/*
InDesign 2021 version 16 and above:

IDs for the three different sub-menus of the "Color Panel":
29188    HSB
29189    Lab
29190    CMYK
29191    RGB
*/

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[Laubender]

app.panels.itemByName("$ID/kColor").visible = true;

try
{
	
	/*
		InDesign 2021 version 16 and above:

		IDs for the four different sub-menus of the "Color Panel":
		29188    HSB
		29189    Lab
		29190    CMYK
		29191    RGB
	*/

	// RGB
	app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID( 29191 ).invoke()
	
}catch(e)
{
	$.writeln( "ERROR: " + e.number +", " + e.message )
};

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )